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Fiona Mackenzie is one of the foremost Gaelic singers in the Highlands of Scotland today. Fiona, from the Highland town of Dingwall in Ross-shire, has been a runner up in the Gold Medal Final on two occasions and has won many more competitions over recent years including the prestigious Oran Mor trophy at the Royal National Mod in the Western Isles in October 2001. A fluent Gaelic speaker she was appointed to the post of Mairi Mhor Gaelic Song Fellow in 2002. She works in education in Dingwall and is particularly influential in her promotion of Gaelic singing in schools in the Highlands. Fiona's singing career has developed over the last 6 years and she is now in demand all over the Highlands; from Oban in the south to Wick in the north and from Ullapool in the west to Aberdeen in the east. Her Gaelic repertoire includes; classical and traditional songs, pibroch and puirt-a-beul, all of which are unaccompanied. Fiona also runs a Gaelic singing class for Feis Rois and conducts the local junior Gaelic Choir with which she has had some notable successes.
Arthur Cormack is one of the finest Gaelic singers of his generation. Since winning the Mod Gold Medal in 1992, he has sung world-wide with fellow Skye musician and former Cliar member Blair Douglas and with the highly-acclaimed MacTalla. He runs the Macmeanmna record label and is known as the busiest man in Skye, also running the youth tuition festivals organisation, Feisean nan Gaidheal and The Aros Experience, a tourist centre, theatre and restaurant in Portree.
As a fine singer renowned for his vocal clarity, Arthur Cormack was a first choice to speak the words of Fiona's songs in 'Seinn! O Ho Ro Seinn!' the highly acclaimed Gaelic CD set produced by The Highland Council's Màiri Mhòr Gaelic Song Fellowship in October last 2003. The CDs feature a collection of 40 popular songs sung by Fiona Mackenzie then followed by the spoken word, by Arthur Cormack. This set is a wonderful resource for anybody who's interested in learning to sing a Gaelic song but cant get access to help, either musically or with the Gaelic language. |
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